Fried Frank Hires Two Hogan Lovells Attorneys for REIT Group

International law firm Fried Frank has nabbed Stuart Barr and Cameron Crosby from Hogan Lovells, according to a press release from Fried Frank. The attorneys, who are experts in real estate investment trust transactions, have signed on as partners and began working out of the Washington, D.C. office on Jan. 10.

Barr and Crosby have been involved in “the country’s largest REIT transactions,” according to a Fried Frank spokesman. They advised “three of the largest five REIT IPOs in history,” including the $2.6 billion IPO of Paramount Group and the $1 billion IPO of Empire State Realty Trust. They also worked on the $7.6 billion merger of DuPont Fabros Technology with Digital Realty Trust, “creating the largest wholesale data center REIT in the United States,” advised Landmark Apartment Trust on its $1.9 billion acquisition by Starwood Capital, and Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors on its $825 million acquisition of Sentio Healthcare Properties.

As head of the firm’s REIT practice, Barr works in the corporate department. He represents issuer and underwriter clients “on public equity and debt offerings and represent public REITs and private real estate companies on mergers and acquisitions transactions,” per the release.

Crosby works in the tax department, the release indicates, and advises REITs on “the tax aspects of real estate and partnership transactions,” including initial public offerings, secondary offerings and joint ventures.

David Greenwald, the chairman of Fried Frank, said in a prepared statement: “Stuart and Cam’s extensive REIT experience will help further augment our current practice and provide our clients in this space with sophisticated legal counsel on their most complex needs.”.

Of Barr and Crosby’s departure from Hogan Lovells, a spokesman told Commercial Observer: “We wish them both the very best for the future.”